This popular herb grows in Europe, especially the Mediterranean, and is a member of the mint…

85g chestnut mushroom, halved if large

Method

Heat the oil in a non-stick wide, shallow pan, add bacon and fry briskly until lightly coloured, then lift on to a plate. Add the chicken and fry on each side until lightly brown. Set aside with the bacon. Tip onion and garlic into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato purée, then stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, stock, lentils and thyme. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the mushrooms. Add the bacon and chicken, pushing them under the liquid. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until lentils are tender and the chicken cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

I would use extra stock, as you suggest, John, but also a tbsp of white wine vinegar to give it that wine sharpness. I sometimes do this if I don't want to open a bottle especially. Unless wine vinegar is also a no?

This is a great idea and pretty tastey but I feel it needed a little more acidity...so think will add a bit extra tomato puree next time...used chicken breast instead of thighs as we are trying to eat healthy...Also threw in some diced courgette and sliced pepper as I had some sat in the fridge...served with some fresh french beans to break up the meal. Will make again.

This is an excellent recipe and very tasty. I used pancetta as I had half a packet left, and I cooked the lentils until they were almost done before moving to Stage 2 of the recipe. These green lentils took quite a while to cook and needed quite a lot of additional liquid. That was no problem as I had started cooking a long time before I needed to serve the meal. I served it in a big pasta bowl(!) without any other accompaniment, because I had also made a pudding - and you shouldn't be too greedy :-)

Just finished eating this. What can I say.... it was fantastic. What really amazes me about this is that there are so few ingredients and flavourings but the end result is so tasty. I used chicken fillets , doubled the amount of lentils and liquid and added 10 mins to the cooking time. This will be a regular in our house.

I trebled the quantity and definitely recommend thighs as the meat falls away form the bone. It was absolutely delicious and so easy. I did boil the lentils for 10 mins first before adding them to the chicken and sauce, just to be sure they would cook. I also cooked for over 1 hour as I like my meat very tender.

Very tasty dish, I used a tin of lentils so didn't need to worry about them being under cooked. I also used small chicken breasts and doubled the ingredients as was making it for 3 adults. Plenty to go round and very filling.

Definitely the lentils needed longer, may even at browning off stage throw the chicken in with chopped herbs for extra flavour. Served with Roasts but probably didn't need to! Will make again lovely dish.

I made a couple of mistakes. Firstly then lentils stuck to the bottom of the pan and burnt without cooking thru. Secondly the dish really needed another 10 mins to cook thru so that the chicken came off the bone more easily. Next time i try it I'll stir the dish occasionally to keep the lentil moving.

Lovely and filling. I agree with others' posts, and found the lentils took a longer cooking time than the recipe suggests. This has now become a family fave, which is tricky in a house of fussy monkies! I use chicken thighs, which stay nice and moist.

I have made this several times and my husband & I love it! Can't believe something this tasty can be healthy! I ususally substitute peppers for the mushrooms, and find just using extra stock to replace the wine is fine. I do cook this for an hour and a half to soften the lentils.

Hi nanapatsy, thanks for your question. We haven't tested this recipe using red lentils so cannot guarantee perfect results. You might be better trying chickpeas or butter beans instead though if you're wanting to find a substitute as red lentils tend not to hold their shape once cooked. Let us know how you get on.

Hi boombap, thanks for your question. This recipe uses dried green lentils which have not been soaked beforehand but you could use tinned if you want to and just add them at the end after the chicken has cooked through and let them warm in the stew for 5 - 10 mins. Hope this helps.

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